2012 Burton Sherlock Used and Reviewed

The Sherlocks one of those boards that can do everything you put in front of it but finds itself at home frolicking amongst the white fluffy wonderland that is the epic powder day. Last year this board stood out as a solid stick from Burton and nothings changed for 2012 except finally testing it in conditions it was meant to shralp. Here’s how it stacked up.

Camber Option: Flying V. Continuous rocker between the feet and after them.

Bindings: K2 Formulas

Stance: 22.5

Angles: What I’m guessing was somewhere between 12 and 18 on the front and negative 6 to 15 on the rear due to having to count the ridges and pray they didn’t shift when jimmy rigging the k2’s on this board.

Boots: K2 T1 DB Size 10

My Weight: 160

Resort: Breckenridge and Arapahoe Basin

Conditions: Sunny blue skies with a few clouds and fresh powder. Brecks powder was heavy Northwest style and A Basins was some of the lightest Colorado fluffy snow you could want.

Preconceived Notions: I’ve ridden last years in a 54 it was solid and a lot of fun and honestly there isn’t any change that I can tell to next seasons.

Flex: Stiffer twin flex meant more for charging than buttering around on groomers and jibbing. Torsional flex had a good bit of give which let you manipulate the board through carves on hard packed. There seems to be a bit more play in the tips than between the feet.

Stability: Through chop, chunder, and rutted out fluffy pow there wasn’t any instances of thinking fuck I’m going to die. Add to that cruising around on groomers at high speeds and other than a little flutter in the end of the tips from the rocker profile no instances of instability.

Ollies/Pop: The snap out of the tips in powder was one of the best features on this board. I’ve said this board has great snap before in my review of last years model, but this is where it really excelled. The shape allowed you to just blast over anything in your path.

Butterability: Real playful and easy to mess around with on the tips. Pow butters were by far the easiest I’ve ever experienced on any deck.

Cruising: Initiating a turn came quick with ease. On edge it always felt locked in and not like it was going to wash out.

Jibbing: The tips locked in great on presses and the flex was solid enough for jibbing but still made you work for it.

Rider in Mind: The powder freestyle guy. This is where the board is at home. Spinning off hits into fresh snow and playing around in the backcountry. You can definitely ride this all mountain without any issues but if you’re spending more time in the pow I’d recommend that.

Personal Thoughts: Honestly nothings really changed in this model from last seasons. ICS can still blow me and thanks Burton for not sending me any bindings that would fit this I don’t ride your bindings good thing I was able to rig up some K2’s to work on it so I could ride it. Other than that the review speaks for itself the boards solid and its truly at home in deep powder. I wish I was able to hit a backcountry booter session on this as I think that it would have proven itself on yet another genre it’s at home with.

The Australian season is underway now and I took my new Sherlock out for its first couple of days this weekend to see if the hype was true.

This board is brilliant edge to edge, popping off natural jumps and in the deep stuff. It feels a little bit more nervous and squirrelly than my other boards but that’s a small price to pay for a board that initiates and hooks into turns so well, it is just so agile. The next thing I really noticed is how well it cushions landings, very good news for my knees. That combines with the great pop mentioned in this review and along with edges that don’t catch this really encourages you to hit every obstacle you see in front of you and boost as high as you can go, it is so forgiving that it really inspires a new level of confidence.

If the snow is good quality groomed or deep stuff then the edge held well as anything else i’ve ridden, but the one thing I have gotta say is it was BAD on ice. I will re-tune sharper edge angles before heading back up to the mountain next week and see if that helps but I think the problem is the camber profile and softer flex here. Get something stiffer for riding on ice.

I bought this board based on last years Angrysnowboarder review. The way this guy hates Burton, I figured for him to give it such a good review meant it must be pretty damn special, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

I just got to ride my new 2012 burton sherlock at A basin on a semi powder day! october 26th I believe.

For being my first reverse camber board, I must say the experience was unlike any I have ever had. Going from a five year old burton canyon (cambered board) to a brand new burton sherlock (flying V ) was a dramatic change.

The sherlock feels different in many ways:

Overall, the ride feels more like surfing. This means it is super easy to initiate turns and overall the ride feels looser.

The board is extremely forgiving. I was getting air and landing instead of wiping out. I would never be able to do this on my old board.

I now totally understand why they say camber is agressive, while rocker is more playful and loose.

I rode the 160 last season all over the east coast then for 2 weeks in UT and a week in JH. Great board for the soft and OK on the stiff. Horrible on ice or mega stiff EC 8am packed. I enjoyed it especially in the trees as the narrow waist was quick edge to edge for a rocker shape. I would normally be on a Custom X or a Ride Concept TMS (please bring that board back) but I was happy with the Sherlocks performance as I knew it wasn’t going to slay the stiff stuff. Happy I went with the 160 over the 157 (I weigh 170) as the longer running lenght made a difference, I rode the 157 later in the season.

it’s definitely a flying v. i work at a shop in NZ and we have already had the 2012 sherlock for our season (and the 2011 one before that). it is totally flying v – hence the added pop. good review though!

i have also been riding the channel (ICS) for the past few years. it was definitely new technology and came with issues but the latest incarnation is too good. try the malavita binding. definitely my preferred binding.

[…] Burton Sherlock: By far one of the more fun decks I rode for last season in terms of all mountain versatility. This deck could handle powder without problems and still pick up a few laps in the park. The $499 price tag keeps it just out of the rang of being obscene. Burton fanboys should flock to this and for the haters give it a chance cause it might blow your mind. There’s a reason it gets honors in this review series. […]

For all mountain (with some playing off the side pow stashes, buttering, small natural jumps): westmark, Sherlock, or joystick? And what size? I’m a noob in the park (small park features only) and weigh 155lbs.

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